Emma Whitfield is showing effort to make a heartfelt plea to MPs to introduce the Jack Lis Law so no other mother endures the heartbreak and trauma of losing a child to a dog attack.
Her son Jack Lis, 10, was mauled to death by an XL Bully in November 2021, and since then 16 more people have died in dog attacks, including a woman in her 70s at the weekend.
Emma, 32, will urge MPs to back the Mirror’s campaign for changes to the Dangerous Dogs Act, telling them: ‘Everything I’m doing, I’m doing for Jack, to stop another Jack from happening.
‘I want to make sure that nobody else is ever put in the position of me and my family. I know I can’t change what has happened, but there are people who have the power to change the future.
‘I am speaking here today to try and be a part of that change.’
Emma has joined the Dog Control Coalition and Labour MP Wayne David to fight for the Jack Lis Law, which will change the act and introduce tougher penalties to stop the epidemic of maulings and killings.
In a video message to the All Party Parliamentary Dog Advisory Welfare Group, Emma will recall the day her son died, telling them: ‘Identifying Jack by being shown his shoe was heart-breaking.
‘Being told he didn’t make it was unimaginable.’
Jack suffered fatal injuries after being dragged away by an XL Bully named Beast in Caerphilly, Wales, during a visit to a friend’s house after school.
The dog’s owners, Brandon Hayden and Amy Salter were later jailed.
‘Sadly, I think (dog attacks) are increasing. We’re hearing about these almost every day. The Government can’t pretend this isn’t happening. I just hope they actually listen to us.’
A review into regulations for licensed dog breeders and pet sellers is set to be published later this year.
In March 2022, months after Jack’s death, two-year-old Lawson Bond died in a dog attack in Egdon, Worcs.
A fortnight later, 17-month-old Bella-Rae Birch was killed by her family’s dog in St Helens, Merseyside.
This was followed by fatal attacks on Daniel Twigg, three, three-month-old Kyra King, and Alice Stones, four.
Already this year dogs have killed Natasha Johnston, 28, four-year-old Alice Stones, Wayne Stevens, 51, Jonathan Hogg, 37, and a woman in her 70s in Bedworth, Warks on Friday.
